Have you ever felt like this: There are more and more mass-market snack shops opening in the corners and alleys, and they have become the first choice of many people with the label of "easy to buy, cheap, large quantity and variety". In these stores, it seems to be normal to spend a few dollars to buy a bottle of drink or a bag of potato chips. However, the cheap and affordable snacks offered by mass-market snack stores may not be what you imagine.
The reporter visited a number of mass snack stores and comprehensive supermarkets and purchased dozens of popular commodities such as instant noodles, drinks, potato chips, and melon seeds for weighing and conversion. It was found that mass-market snack stores use extremely low prices to attract consumers. However, although the prices for some products appear to be low, when converted into unit prices per hundred grams or per milliliter, they are more expensive than general supermarkets. Some netizens also reported that they encountered a situation similar to the "snack assassin".
Are "low-price snacks" from mass-market snack stores really cheaper? What kind of pricing magic is hidden in the so-called "channel customization"?
The "low-price strategy" of mass-market snack stores
Create the "illusion" of cheapness
Mass-selling snack stores have expanded rapidly in some cities in recent years, with many brands focusing on the slogan of "affordable prices and money saving". Is this true? In order to understand the pricing logic of mass-market snack stores, reporters recently purchased products covering more than ten categories including drinks, potato chips, instant noodles, and loose nuts in mass-market snack stores of different brands and traditional comprehensive supermarkets. They recorded the net content and prices one by one, and made on-site conversions and comparisons.
After sorting through the data, the reporter found that mass-market stores do have a "low-price strategy". For example, a certain brand of large-capacity iced black tea sells for 5 yuan per liter in supermarkets (0.50 yuan per 100 ml), while mass-market snack stores sell it for 3.6 yuan. Although the volume of the mass-market snack store version of iced tea has shrunk to 900 ml, it only costs 0.40 yuan per 100 ml, which is indeed about 20% cheaper than in supermarkets. The capacity of small bottles of iced tea and cola has also shrunk, but the unit price is indeed slightly lower.
However, this "cheapness" sometimes turns into a "price assassin" when it comes to extremely small packaged snacks. After comparing all the puffed foods purchased, the reporter found that snack stores in mass-market snack stores are extremely keen on selling "special offers" in small packages.
Take a certain brand of red stew-flavored potato chips as an example. In a comprehensive supermarket, a 135-gram large package sells for 9.9 yuan, equivalent to 7.33 yuan per 100 grams. In mass snack stores, potato chips of the same brand and flavor are only available in 35g and 56g versions on the shelves. Among them, the 35-gram package is priced at 2.8 yuan, which seems extremely cheap, but if converted into a unit price of 100 grams, it is actually as high as 8 yuan.
To put it simply, the mass-market snack store created the "illusion" of cheapness with a total price of 2.8 yuan, but made consumers suffer in terms of weight.
Some people think that eating alone is afraid of waste, so they buy small packages, and the higher unit price is acceptable. But taking the potato chips above as an example, they are all sold in snack shops of the same brand. If consumers buy the 56-gram medium-sized version, the price per hundred grams is nearly 10% more expensive than the small package.
Prices appear "upside down", and consumers suffer even more.
According to the "Price Law of the People's Republic of China" and relevant legal provisions, clearly marked prices should ensure that the price tags are complete, the price content is true and clear, the writing is clear, and the markings are eye-catching. For those engaged in retail business, product price tags should indicate the product name, unit of measurement, retail price and other main contents. If there are specification requirements, specifications and other items should also be indicated.
Legal expert Yue Qishan pointed out that if small packaging or different specifications are used to make consumers think that the price of the product is lower than the usual price, but the actual unit price is higher, this is misleading consumers or using misleading pricing methods to mislead consumers into purchasing.
Bulk snack area
It is also the “hardest-hit area” for premium prices.
In addition to pre-packaged food, the bulk area of mass-market snack stores is also the "hardest hit area" for premium prices.
The reporter bought a small portion of a certain brand of crab roe and melon seeds. The shelf label showed that the melon seeds cost 15.8 yuan per pound (500 grams). In the official e-commerce flagship store of the same brand, the same 500 grams only cost 13.82 yuan, which is about 14% more expensive in mass-market snack stores. Another brand of five-flavored melon seeds sells for 15.9 yuan per pound in mass snack stores, but less than 10 yuan per pound on e-commerce platforms, with a premium of more than 60%.
Because there is no unified standard weight for bulk snacks, consumers’ perception of price is reduced to the lowest level. This information gap has become one of the important sources of profits for mass-market snack stores.
After visiting and verifying dozens of products, the reporter found that not everything in mass-market snack stores is expensive. Even after including group purchases, live broadcast room discounts, etc., many products are more expensive than traditional supermarkets. However, the snack shop used small-sized products with extremely low prices to create a "cheap price" impact, and then quietly earned back profits through the "inversion of unit prices" in small packages and the high gross profit in the bulk area.
Targeting the "Price Assassin" Phenomenon
What legal responsibilities do merchants have to bear?
Lu Yun, director of the Consumer Rights and Product Quality and Safety Law Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association and a lawyer of the China Consumers Association Lawyers Group, pointed out that consumers have the right to know in accordance with the law, so merchants cannot deceive or confuse consumers through vague labeling or inconspicuous methods. If the specifications and prices of the goods sold are not within the general awareness of consumers, they should be clearly marked or prompted, otherwise consumers' right to know may be violated.
The reporter checked public reports and some social media and found that in recent years, some consumers have indeed reported that there are "price assassins" on some products in snack shops.
According to relevant laws and regulations such as the Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Measurement of Quantitatively Packaged Commodities, operators should provide consumers with true and comprehensive product information in a conspicuous manner. If a merchant creates the illusion of low prices through concealed labeling, one-sided promotion, etc., it is suspected of infringing on consumers' rights to know and fair trade.
Lu Yun said that specific products need to be analyzed in detail. Once it constitutes fraud, the merchant must bear the punitive compensation liability of "refund one and compensate three" in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law.
Some analysts pointed out that the popularity of snacks in small sizes, small packages, and unconventional capacity sizes is supported by real consumer demand and cannot be simply regarded as a "shrinking routine."
Yue Qishan believes that in response to issues such as "snack assassins" and "price assassins", it is not only necessary to strengthen supervision in sales channels, but also to clearly mark the inconsistency with ordinary channels or other supermarket specifications when producing prices, attracting consumers' attention, satisfying the legal obligation to protect consumers' right to know, and returning the right to choose and fair trade to consumers.
Lu Yun suggested that in sales channels including snack stores and supermarkets, separate sales areas can be opened for snacks with unconventional capacity or content and various small packaged snacks to avoid "price assassins" from infringing on consumers' legitimate rights and interests.
Producer丨Fan Xinzheng
Reporter丨Wang Yiqun
